Astros report: Porter, Francona defend shifty business

Marwin Gonzalez took a gamble and lost when he tried to bunt with two strikes in the seventh inning. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

The Astros’ early-season defensive shifts weren’t an anomaly.

The club continued to regularly adjust its infield and outfield alignments throughout a three-game series against the Cleveland Indians.

According to ACTA Sports, the Astros are on pace to quadruple the amount of shifts the club recorded in 2012 (138). While the sample size for the 2013 season is small, Astros manager Bo Porter acknowledged the increased use of shifts during the team’s recent nine-game road trip and explained the moves in detail Sunday, prior to a 5-4 loss to the Indians.

Porter has credited the organization’s analytics staff with providing the information used for the shifts. He said the Astros’ adjustments are comparable to the system used by Washington when he was the Nationals’ third-base coach.

“Most people think the numbers have a lot to do with it,” Porter said. “It has more to do with the hitter in the batter’s box and the pitcher on the mound. … It’s my firm belief that you will defend the portion of the field (to which) the guy has the greatest probability of hitting the ball.”

With the Astros entering Sunday with the worst team ERA (5.42) in MLB and tied for 16th in errors (10), the club’s shift-heavy approach has drawn notice.

The Indians observed an Astros starting pitcher became “aggravated” when a hit went through a hole a standard-placed defender likely would have filled.

Cleveland’s Terry Francona said more MLB teams are shifting their defenses based off hitter’s tendencies, and the ex-Boston manager acknowledged the Indians are adjusting more than his previous clubs.

“There’s so much more information out there,” Francona said. “If you don’t use it, you’re kind of silly.

“The biggest thing is just making sure the players buy in to it. Because there’s gonna be a hit that’s hit somewhere — it just happens.”

Porter said it’s easy to pick apart missed outs, but the advanced metrics back up the moves.

“You don’t hear anything when a guy scorches a ball and it two-hops the second baseman in short right field. … You can’t have the best of both worlds,” he said.

Gonzalez turns overly sacrificial

Down 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh Sunday, the Astros had runners on first and second with no outs. But Marwin Gonzalez struck out when fouling off a two-strike bunt attempt, Jose Altuve grounded out, and Chris Carter was called out looking.

Gonzalez had a bunt signal during his first two strikes, Porter said. But the call was off before his final sacrifice attempt.

“That was bad on my part,” Gonzalez said.

Oberholtzer gets rude welcome

Lefthanded reliever Brett Oberholtzer allowed three hits and two earned runs in two innings in his MLB debut against the Indians. The first batter he faced, Indians first baseman Carlos Santana, clubbed a 421-foot home run to left-center field.

“That was one of the farthest balls anyone’s hit off me,” said Oberholtzer, who settled down after his shaky start.

Odds and ends

Astros manager Bo Porter said starter Erik Bedard (four innings, 75 pitches Sunday) is being limited because of his injury history. … Chris Carter entered the contest 1-for-his-last-19 with eight strikeouts. He had a pinch-hit sacrifice fly in the sixth inning but struck out with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth. … Fernando Martinez, who came off the disabled list Saturday, homered in his first at-bat Sunday and went 1-for-2 with two RBIs.

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Recap: The Astros have played six series this season and only won one. After jumping out to a 2-0 first-inning lead Sunday against the Cleveland Indians, the Astros fell 5-4 at Minute Maid Park. The Indians (7-10) hit four home runs and recorded 11 hits. Cleveland won the series 2-1 against the Astros, who only recorded three extra-base hits. The Astros (5-13) loaded the bases with one in the bottom of the ninth after Jose Altuve was intentionally walked. But Chris Carter struck out and Jason Castro hit a hard grounder to third base.

Starter: Astros lefthander Erik Bedard was limited to four innings of six-hit, two-run ball. He was pulled after 75 pitches and gave way to rookie lefthander Brett Oberholtzer, who allowed a fifth-inning solo home run to the first batter (Carlos Santana) he faced in his major-league debut.

Key inning: Indians third baseman Mark Reynolds clubbed his seventh home run of the season off the left-center field wall in the seventh inning, making it 5-4 Cleveland.

Mariners update: The Astros will have to face Mariners ace righthander Felix Hernandez this time around. But Seattle entered Sunday still underperforming, ranked 29th out of 30 teams in batting average (.218) and slugging percentage (.342) and 27th in on-base percentage (.285). Mariners veterans such as Jason Bay and Raul Ibanez haven’t met early expectations, while injuries (Michael Saunders) and a stalled youth movement have limited Seattle.

Photo: Brett Coomer / Chronicle

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<center><b>April 21: Indians 5, Astros 4</b></center>
Indians third baseman Mark Reynolds, left, rounds the bases past Astros second baseman Jose Altuve after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning. less

<center><b>April 21: Indians 5, Astros 4</b></center>
Indians third baseman Mark Reynolds, left, rounds the bases past Astros second baseman Jose Altuve after hitting a solo home run during the seventh ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer / Chronicle

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Astros center fielder Justin Maxwell can't come down with a double hit by Indians right fielder Ryan Raburn during the fifth inning.

Astros center fielder Justin Maxwell can't come down with a double hit by Indians right fielder Ryan Raburn during the fifth inning.

Photo: Brett Coomer / Chronicle

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Mark Reynolds, left, rounds the bases past third-base coach Brad Mills after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning.

Mark Reynolds, left, rounds the bases past third-base coach Brad Mills after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning.

Photo: Brett Coomer / Chronicle

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Indians relief pitcher Chris Perez fires a pitch against the Astros during the ninth inning.

Indians relief pitcher Chris Perez fires a pitch against the Astros during the ninth inning.

Photo: Brett Coomer / Chronicle

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Astros third baseman Matt Dominguez reacts after being hit in the elbow by Indians relief pitcher Chris Perez during the ninth inning.

Astros third baseman Matt Dominguez reacts after being hit in the elbow by Indians relief pitcher Chris Perez during the ninth inning.

Photo: Brett Coomer / Chronicle

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Astros shortstop Marwin Gonzalez lays down a sacrifice bunt in front of Indians catcher Yan Gomes during the ninth inning.

Astros shortstop Marwin Gonzalez lays down a sacrifice bunt in front of Indians catcher Yan Gomes during the ninth inning.